She was all alone. Looking around, she noticed that she was in a dimly lit corridor that seemed to go on forever in both directions. Darkness enveloped the high ceiling in a way that made She felt as though she was standing at the bottom of an abysmal pit. The dingy gray stone walls and floor were badly cracked and in total disrepair. They seemed to continue eternally in both directions. The only light in the dank corridor came from several scattered torches. The bright red flames were flickering when there was no draft. It was as if they wanted to escape from this dark place, but the torch holders would not relinquish them. She cautiously walked over to the closest torch and saw that it was encased with iron bars and glass. "Oh," She thought to herself, "if I could only feel the heat from that torch! It's so cold….
She was running as fast as she could down the corridor. She had no idea when or why she had started running; all she knew is that she must not stop. She was sprinting as fast as she could, hoping against all hope to escape from this dreaded place, or at least to see a color other than the gray walls and black shadows. Even her arms had a pallid, gray look to them. She had to keep going; she had to get away from the cold….
The torches had become more sporadic. There was hardly any light and she could barely see where her feet were hitting the stone floor, but she had to keep going. Her footsteps echoed loudly in the desolate corridor every time her shoes slapped the cold stone. It was pitch black now, but she still did not stop running. She could not see a thing; she stumbled on a loose stone, but persevered. Then up ahead, she saw a faint blue glow. As she got closer she slowed to a walk. She could now see that there was a table in the middle of the corridor, and on it sat a large bluish-white flame that suffused the corridor in a mysterious, foggy blue light. The corridor continued beyond the flame, but it was so captivating that she had to stop and get a closer look. It was irresistible.
As she approached the flame, she acted as though she was in a trance. It was just so enchanting. It looked as though it was floating several inches above the elaborately carved wood table and she had to know how this was possible. Surely a bright blue flame such as the one in front of her would give off an immense amount of heat, and she became wary that she was getting colder….
She was nearly tremulous from the cold now, shivering from head to foot. Quick as lightning, she reached for the flame, greedy for its warmth, but her hand went too far. Her arm was sitting in the middle of the flame, yet she could feel nothing. Realizing that this mysterious flame had no heat, she started grabbing at it, trying desperately to grasp it, sobbing from the cold as she did. She wanted the warmth, no, needed the warmth. She would surely freeze to death if she did not find a way out of this place, but had no more energy for running. She closed her eyes as tight as she could, wishing she was somewhere, anywhere but here….
As she slowly opened her eyes, she saw that she was running again. This time, however, she could not seem to stop herself for anything, even with her muscles screaming for a rest. Then she felt something different. Something hit her softly on the top of the head. Looking up, she realized it was raining. This had not happened once since she found herself in that awful hallway. But as she looked from side to side, she realized she was no longer in the perpetual corridor.
She was now running along a train station, the rain starting to come down harder on her. There was a train pulling away from the station, and for some unexplainable reason she felt compelled to catch up with it. As the train started to pick up speed, so did she. Curiously, Shay peered into the windows while struggling to keep up with the gargantuan steam engine. It was solid gray and she could only see shapeless shadows through the foggy windows. It was like the corridor, only she felt less fear and more sorrow. Why was she running? Why did she have to keep up with this train? As she looked at the windows closer, to the front, she saw a face.
Unlike the dark shadows, she could make out the definition on the pale face. It looked to be a boy around 16, close to her age. She could see him staring at her through a window bordered with fog, his face expressionless, and his blonde hair still despite the movement of the train. It looked like an eerie, centuries old, black and white photograph. She had to keep up with that train; she just could not coax herself to stop running. Some strange force was urging her forward, wishing her to attain the unattainable. As to whether it was the boy, the train, or something else she was after; she didn't really know.
The train started gathered up to full speed and she realized that she would never be able to keep up. She wished harder than ever that she was on that train, though she didn't know why. She blinked long and hard, tilting her head back so that the rain softly pelted it with little droplets. She wished as hard as she could that she was on that train. She just had to see that boy…. When she opened her eyes it was no longer raining and aisles of seats creeped by her on either side. She was on the train.
She walked up and down the aisles and traveled through all of the carriages, but there was no sign of the boy. Even now that she was on the train, the creatures that occupied the seats still looked the same; they were all just shapeless, colorless shadows. She had to find that boy. Exhausted and confused, she gave up and took a seat away from all of the blurry figures. Then she saw the strangest, most beautiful thing. It was better than anything she had ever seen or imagined. The only words that could describe her emotions are total awe.
As she sat there, she saw a small swirl of bright red lights emerge from beneath the seat across from her. She was a witch, but she still had never seen anything this captivating before. It looked almost like a butterfly, but its shape swirled around and altered slightly. It reminded her of a picture composed of very thin fluorescent neon lights.
At first shay thought it was just a hallucination or possibly a laser light show, but she learned better. As she extended her hand towards the magnificent creature, it came close and landed lightly on her finger tip. Its wing-like parts fluttered a little in the draft and folded under its body. She could feel that the creature was extremely light, but still had some weight. The creature before her was not a figment of her imagination, but the most graceful creature she had ever seen. It felt warm in her hand and she could swear the creature had a light pulse. She closed her eyes to enjoy the feeling of the beautiful creature. The only sound was the grind of the train on its tracks.
When she opened her eyes again, all she could hear was birds chirping. It now smelled of picnics and pine trees. She could hear laughter coming from a nearby grove of pine trees. She was now sitting on a plaid blanket in the middle of a park. She could hear a great deal of picnic goers, but could not see any of them. Then a familiar boy stepped out from behind a tree that was not far from her. She immediately recognized him as the boy from the train.
He no longer looked pale; on the contrary, his face was flushed with color and life. She smiled at him nervously, but he did not return the gesture. She stood up to go greet the stranger, but her knees were so weak that she collapsed back down on the blanket. She waved at him and said hello, hoping that he would come over and talk to her. The boy stared at her for what seemed like forever with no expression on his face. She looked at him pleadingly and after several more seconds, he gave her a cold look with his steely grey eyes and turned to go back into the small forest. "Wait!" she shouted, scrambling to her feet. But the boy never looked back.
The scene slowly turned from a vibrant green to a colorless gray. The sad color spilled out of the girl herself and started seeping across the ground and into the forest. It was so horribly traumatic for her that she could barely think and breathe.
She didn't know why she was so upset about a complete stranger ignoring her, but something inside of her felt like it was missing. It was as if the boy had discreetly ripped off a piece of her heart and would not give it back. She was so sad that she sat down and started bawling like a baby. She did not stop crying for several minutes. Then she felt an overwhelming urge to close her eyes and drift off. She tried to fight it, but finally gave in. She closed her eyes slowly and kept them closed for a long time.
All the while, she felt like she was floating on a cloud. She was weightless, drifting along in the air like a feather. She couldn't hear, feel, or smell anything. She just lay there, thinking about everything and nothing at the same time. Then she started to hear slow, steady breathing. She could feel small puffs of heat hitting her face in rhythm with the breathing. Her eyes snapped open and were flooded with bright, warm, yellow sunlight. Hermione Granger was lying down on her bed in Hogwarts and standing over her was the pale faced boy she knew better as Draco Malfoy.